


A new guy? In Our town?

by orphan_account



Category: Animal Crossing, South Park
Genre: (hopefully), Crossover, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, romantic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-13 03:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7959865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody has seen many new people move into the town of South Park since it got out about all the strange happenings, but some people just want to settle down with friendly people. I mean, especially when they're all animals, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Guy

God, he was nervous.  
  
Tweek Tweak had been sent by his parents to pursue a better life. They had been sad, but he was twenty years old and had found a job that worked for him. It was one working in a nice little coffee shop, just downstairs from a museum. In the description it had said that you need a " _passion for hot beverages and a tolerance for unhelpful customers_."  
  
He could do both of those things so he had signed right up. He had been working in a coffee shop since he was able, though often in the back room. He had been to rehab after finding his parents slipped crystal meth into their coffee, though everything had worked out. He could wipe the slate clean and start a new hopefully. He still had problems with anxieties, stress levels and generally not being good with loud noises, but really he couldn't help that. He was a mouse, and nearly everyone was bigger, leaner and more terrifying than he was.  
  
Although scrawny, underweight and cautious, he was no pushover. Sure, sometimes if he was pursued in the right way he could be brought into horrible, easily avoidable situations, though he wasn't one to just take information from other people without backing it up with evidence.   
  
The day before moving, he had said goodbye to his parents in advance and packed his things. He didn't have much, but he had landed a house there and so he was hoping to find it as satisfactory a town to live in than the one he was currently in. He had a lot of problems where he came from, and although it wasn't the worse, he had nearly had his organs cut out and traded on the black market. _That's not going to happen_ he told himself, _not again_.  
  
It had been printed on his ticket that the train ride would be long, but no tedious journey could stop him now. He boarded the train and sat down as it started to move, looking out the windows as the place he once called home rolled by. New place, new you, though. Right?  
  
It was very early in the morning and some of the dark blanket of sky was still layered over the town. He never did find sleeping easy, so he instead pulled out his ipod and put on some music. He was courteous enough to put earbuds in, keeping the volume out from the other... two people on the train. One seemed to be talking to the other so he left the two in peace. They seemed to be laughing and the axolotl was telling jokes to a very amused cat. He stopped paying attention after a while, closing his eyes as he listened to the soothing sounds of the song.  
  
  
After about twenty minutes, someone with a cart came around, gently tapping him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but would you like any food? Beverages? It's all inclusive in your ticket."  
  
Shifting awkwardly, he thought on if he was hungry enough to order anything large, but he wasn't all that interested. "May I h-have some coffee? Possibly some biscuits?" A brisk nod from the lady told him that yes, he was allowed that. They asked the other male across from him and he just shot a pleasant pick-up line at her before saying no, he did not want anything.  
  
As soon as he got a cup of hot coffee with a small plate of biscuits, he curled himself up behind the table in front of him. Pulling his knees to his chest wasn't much of a task due to his size, but the problem was not jerking the table at all.  
  
Coaxing the steam off of the drink with a gentle blow, he raised it to his lips to take a sip. The drink was bitter, and hot(not enough to scald, mind you) and oh so good. He hadn't had any since he left his house which was admittedly a very long time ago. He wanted to get there early but overestimated how long it would take him to get there, leaving him four hours early. (Oops)  
  
As he opened his eyes, there were a set of warm brown ones looking directly at him, and it was terrifying. So much so, he dropped the hot drink on himself, and suffered in a slight silence, small mumbles of pain leaving his lips and flashing over his face.  
  
The axolotl seemed apologetic, but didn't say anything on the matter.  
  
"You g-g-gonna eat that?" The question of which being asked towards him made Tweek tilt his head in a questioning manner. The axolotl raised a hand and pointed to the biscuits on the table.  
  
Taking two, he pushed the rest of the plate over, sitting his on the saucer no longer containing a cup filled with the delicious beverage. That was empty and all over his shirt. Thank god he didn't need to wear pants. He did need a shower, though.  
  
"I'm Jimmy, your name is...?"  
  
Friendly as he may seem, Tweek was hesitant to try and befriend him, seeing as the guy had literally creeped up on him nearly scaring him half to death. "Tweek Tweak." He replied, taking a bite of the cookie before realising that yes, they had pretty good food things here. On the train, that is.  
  
"So you're like the moon moon in real life?" At that, Tweek's pleased face fell into a slightly irritated scowl. "A little bit, but my second name had an A instead of an E. Please do n-not AGH! compare me to memes, though."  
  
New people made him nervous, and nerves made his stutter worse and his anxieties dip into new levels of low. The bar was so low that the pressure of finding it would send him even further under. Maybe moving wasn't such a great idea...  
  
"S-s-sure, whatever you say, pa-pal. Hey, just so yo-you know you've got a little something r-ri-right there." He then gestured to all of him, basically, and picked up his crutches before shuffling out and making his way down the train. He wasn't too sure where he was going, but anywhere seemed better than sitting by yourself in a slowly cooling pool of coffee.  
  
There weren't any showers on the trains, and he was too anxious to go to the bathroom and try to clean himself up, so he instead tried to get comfortable and go to sleep. It wasn't working too well, and so, he just closed his eyes and stopped focussing altogether.

* * *

  
  
Once the train stopped at one of its last destinations, he had to check he hadn't missed his stop. This was and he got out just as the doors were closing. It was just his luck that his tail got trapped in the doors. It was painful, but not as painful as it would be when the train started moving in a couple of seconds.  
  
_Oh jesus_  he thought, swallowing thickly and trying to yank it out. Today was not his day and this was just getting worse. A pair of white arms wrapped around his middle and yanked him backwards, freeing him just as the train made its departure. Thank god for...  
  
"Butters?! This is w-where you were all this time?"   
  
The little wave of the short white rabbit had him feeling warm already. At least he wasn't completely alone. Standing up on his feet, he helped the other up, watching his ears spring right upwards. "Tweek! Man, I knew you felt familiar! How've you been?" The excited seeming rabbit asked, a smile plastered on his face. He was already heading to carry Tweak's stuff and he felt awful about it, though the other just waved him off.  
  
"You look well, I haven't seen you since before...y'know." He meant the meth addiction, but was glad it wasn't mentioned. Just in case anyone else was outside or passing by. Or they had government material in their houses to listen in on useless conversations to bring it up and ruin a reputation in a perfectly good new place. He wouldn't be able to deal with that, and so he ignored it in favour of answering the question at hand. "I'm okay. Today's been a mess. Some guy called Jimmy made me spill my coffee, my stuff fell out a couple stops back and I was hurrying to pack it all as the zip broke. It's glued together now, so I'll have to get a new suitcase, but other than all those things it's been okay."   
  
Butters could tell the guy was nervous about moving in here, as he was nervous about a lot of things. He generally liked routine and nothing unexpected, so moving was something very very big for him. "Aw, gee whiz. I'm sorry. But now you're here there's nothing more to worry a bout!!! Everyone's super nice, and I'll have to show you around sometime! Most people are sleeping, actually."  
  
"Why are you up?" Tweek was genuinely concerned for his friend, as he never did this back where they lived. It was quite busy though, and this place seemed to have a lot of wide open space. "Oh! I like to go hunting for bugs! It's really fun unless they fly in your face." He seemed so enthusiastic, and that's probably what Tweek had missed most about one of his closest friends. So eager to please.  
  
Actually, he ended up being shown to his house, given a map and settled on leaving Butters alone to get settled down by himself. He usually liked being by himself, though now he had the chance he wanted to shower, change. Y'know. All that good stuff.  
  
A quick shower would do him fine, and as he undressed, showered and redressed himself, he noticed he also had a timetable along with the map. Placing it on the box in the corner of the room along with the light, he started to read. It was pretty short, but it was his work timetable. He were to check in as soon as he got here, or just after unpacking, say hello, get acquainted and maybe look around.  
  
He didn't really have much to unpack, and it could be done later, so he decided to get up and show his face.  
  
With his map, he followed all the way to the museum, and even stepping inside he could see it was quite new, well made and structurally sound. It was comforting. There was no one around so far, and the only person that was was an owl conversing with someone else, and so he went straight down the stairs to meet his employer.  
  
It was a well dressed pigeon, as it turns out, and the guy looked as old as his grandpa, though seemed nice enough. He quickly ran through the jobs, had a short conversation and gave him a welcome coffee on the house. It was already seeming like a nice place. Brewster, as his name turned out to be, had told him not to go and stargaze. There was a cat up there that was pretty grumpy, and of which not many people got along with. This intimidated him, and so he didn't go up there, instead, he stayed in the museum to look around.  
  
In the section marked "fishing" he spotted a lion. To say he was a little scared would be incorrect. He was bloody terrified. Though... watching such a big fluffball try to catch these fish through glass was quite funny. As he laughed, he slapped both hands over his mouth, and the lion turned towards him, stalking closer. His eyes were dark, as though the interruption meant he was rather angry.  
  
Scrunching his eyes closed, he started to grip at his shirt, tugging it awkwardly.  _This is how I die,_ he assumed.  
  
The loud, roar of laughter that erupted next was what scared him even more, though as a large paw ruffled the fur between his ears he blinked open his eyes in confusion.   
  
The lion had a mane of which looked too big to be comfortable, but it was still very visible to see that large, toothy grin, though. "You crack me up, I'm just messin' with ya. You're... Tweek, right? I've heard about someone new coming and the name had been tossed around once or twice." Well, that answered his question on how, but not the question on why. "Sorry for scaring you, it's kinda fun to scare people sometimes. Nobody is really scared by me around here, so I had to take the chance, dude. You seem... smaller than I expected?"  
  
Not completely sure if he was dead yet, he gripped his shirt tighter. His heart was still racing, but the person in front of him was being patient. "Y-yeah... I'm tall around my areas, b-but I guess not here." He seemed quite on edge, and the lion picked up on this fact. "You know what? Just bring it in, dude. You look like you're going to have a heart attack."  
  
Tweek didn't know if that would make things better or worse, but he was willing to give anything a try to soothe his heart rate. Shuffling himself forward into the friendly open arms, he felt the person lift him easily in a warm, soft bear hug. "Aw, you're so short and adorable." He didn't know whether to be angry or flustered. He had to admit, though. The fuzzy mane did make him very, very cuddly.  
  
"I'm Kenny, by the way. Welcome to the town, man." With a smile he wrapped his arms around the other as best he could to give him a squeeze. He was allowed free shortly after. "If you need a place to stay just hit me up. I always have bed space for you." The wink of those big, blue eyes just made him wonder if everyone in this town was really friendly or a dork. It was either one, the other or both, and so far that didn't sound too bad.  
  
After Kenny went back to trying to catch the fish, he left the guy be and looked around, pressing his face against the shark tank. They were all so peaceful in there, and of course were absolutely terrifying but were stunning as well. God, he wanted a pet shark. Sometimes.  
  
There were a lot of fish, and knowing that they run only on donations made him curious on who donated them.  
  
Exiting the fishing section, he hurried over to the owl nearby, and he started speaking before he had the chance to. Politely waiting until the welcome greeting passed, he questioned who donated all of those fish.   
  
"Oh well, most of the townfolk donate fish every once in a while, but Craig is often the one to donate fish. Others just want to sell them, can you believe it? Such fine specimens going to waste on _Nook_." The way he said such a name made him wonder who it was, but brushed it off and left, thanking Blathers for answering his query.   
  
It wasn't going to be bad here at all. He could feel it.


	2. Around Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can tell I love some of the characters from the game right? Only like two make it in, possibly more. (Not many) It also like a mash of Animal Crossings so... yeah

Today was the day he supposedly had to visit those in town. He was worried, but Butters would be with him, so it wouldn't be too bad, right? Right.  
  
Making his way out of the house with a deep breath, he closed his door. No going back now. His letterbox had no mail, as he suspected and as he turned to leave, he was face to face with a tall, black cat.  
  
Why did his neighbour have to be a cat? He wasn't going to make it. He was used to so many people being hostile that he wasn't expecting the calm, monotone voice of which was a tad nasally. "You're new, right? Nobody else really gives a shit but in fishing I'm kind of a big deal. I win every fishing tourney and have donated most of the fish in the aquarium, so make sure not to try and beat me." What? Was this some sort of competition to him? Apparently.   
  
"I... O-okay."   
  
The guy walked off with his fishing rod in hand like nothing had even happened. It was a little concerning, but either way, that guy seemed like a dick. Following his map to Butters' house, he gave a polite knock before standing back from the door. The lights were on, so he was in and there wasn't a note pinned to the door. Maybe he had fallen asleep, though?  
  
As the door opened and gave way to a grin and two large ears, it was shown that he was in fact in and ready to go. Pulling on a coat, he watched the other leave the house. "Aren't you cold?"  
  
Ever since the old coffee, his body temperature had been raised and didn't go down. It was probably heart problems too, but it could've been much worse. At least he was away from that. "I don't really get cold often." With a shrug, the two made their way around town. Butters took him to Craig's house first, actually, and the note on the door read "Fuck off, I'm out fishing. -Craig." There was a doodle of a cat flipping off the two and Butters just gave an awkward laugh. "Yeah, Craig doesn't seem friendly but after a while of warming up he's really cool."   
  
Well, he just had to keep trying, but for the moment, he went with Butters to meet the others.   
  
Stan was just outside his house digging holes for god knows what, and as he spotted the two ran right over, grey tail wagging behind him. "Guys! I found something ancient, probably from a burial ground or something." It was most likely not, but Butters told him to put it back anyway. The excited dogs attitude dampened, but his spirit was still in tact.  
  
Kyle lived right next door, and was watering flowers according to the note. "He's a goat, really nice. He seems to get really angry at Cartman, but other than that he's pretty neat."  
  
Kenny was next, the guy lived right up next to the station. As they knocked on his door, he opened it quickly, enveloping the two in a big hug. "Hey guys! I was sort of waiting on your arrival. Cartman usually sends everyone to do this anyway, even if you already have a job." As he had Butters, he didn't have to meet everyone properly, per-se, but it was still nice to see everyone in the town. "I'm gonna leave you guys to it though, I need to get Karen her first axe."   
  
Slightly disconcerting, but he seemed to be pretty good at keeping things under control as far as he'd seen.   
  
Token was a deer, very friendly, seemed much like the motherly figure. He seemed very calm and it was probably the first calm villager he'd met minus Craig. He didn't count.   
  
Wendy was a brown cat with short fur, but her best friend Bebe and her lived together. She was very nice, and gave warm, friendly hugs.   
  
Clyde had lived here but moved out before Tweek could say anything, and he had been told that yes, that was the last of the townsfolk. They had one human that lived here called Douchebag, but nobody much paid attention to the Mayor. He didn't say much anyway.  
  
On the way out, he spotted Jimmy, and left Butters to run up to him. "Jimmy, I thought you g-got off much earlier than I did." The axolotl nodded, waving a crutch at Butters. "I'm ad-adver-advertising my comedy club. C-Club L-O-L." Tweek was a little confused, but decided that yes, he would visit the comedy club sometime. He promised that much.  
  
As the day went on, though, the two went to Butters' house for lunch, eating some pie and hot drinks. Inside the rabbits house was comfortable, and very homely. It was cute, actually. Everything seemed easy on the eyes and nothing too bright and powerful to make his head swim. The colours were mostly pinks and yellows, but it suited him if he was being honest.  
  
Butters worked with Cartman, who seemed known in this town as "Nook" when on duty, When off duty, he was known as "asshole" "fatass" or other insulting nicknames.  
  
So, he went to the coffee shop. He wasn't supposed to start his shift yet, but the guy said he could come down whenever he wanted, as he wasn't going to be there a lot. He was apparently retiring soon, so he would own the shop. He just needed to make sure a young person could hold down his pride and joy. So, he went down to start working.  
  
It was still very clean, everything seemed in the right place, so while there were no customers he made himself a cup of coffee. A large white dog made his way in and took up the stage, guitar in hand as he went through. Tweek didn't comment on it, but he hadn't been told anything about a performer. "H-Hello? Can I help you?" His stutter didn't seem as bad when behind the counter, and was currently mostly nerves and not the caffeine in his system.  
  
"Oh, I'm Randy. I used to be known as Lorde, but I gave that up a long time ago. I perform here on Sundays."  
  
That was news to him. Well, either way it'd be nice to have company. Just then Craig came down, sitting in the seat just in front of him. "The usual, please." He spoke without thinking that Tweek might actually be new to this and not know what his usual was. "I uh... D-don't know what that is..."  
  
It seemed Craig just assumed he had the mental capacity of a small child. "Usual? Something I order here frequently." He spoke very slowly, and Tweek rolled his eyes, unamused. "I know what you mean, but I don't know the order." Work mode had set in and he was more agitated than anything.   
  
"Hot chocolate, with extra cream and three sugars." He sounded exasperated, and it was exactly how Tweek felt about being here working. Just stay calm, find your center. He is just an asshole customer, nothing to worry about, even if he is your neighbour and you'd see him every day.  
  
Immediately he left the stable place of where he imagined himself to be and made the beverage deftly, sliding it across the counter. "Two hundred bells, please."  
  
Two coins were passed over the table and he put them in the pocket of the apron. It was only then he started fidgeting, the lights dimming and the show starting, even with only one person there. Swallowing thickly, he watched Craig avoid eye contact at all costs, those bright blue orbs piercing into his soul. He would've felt that it was a problem until the ears atop his head - once pushed back and listening to the man behind him - turned and stood to attention facing him.   
  
"Not going to lie, this is better than Brewster makes it. Don't tell him I said that." Was that... Conversation? He couldn't handle conversations, it put too much pressure on what to say next. One foot out of place and he was dead meat, hated by his own neighbour. Maybe if- "It was just a compliment, no need to freak out, dude."   
  
That did ease his nerves a little, but not by much. He felt like passing out very, very soon. He couldn't, though. He was working and someone was making conversations. Barista's were supposed to be friendly and make easy conversation with customers, and he was failing horribly. Damn it. "Sorry, I've still not quite gotten used to this. Thanks, though. I guess." He was twitching, and yanking at the apron but otherwise he was happy with his surroundings. Plus the fact his stutter was under control. He only had self control sometimes, and even then it was only when he believed in himself, which didn't exactly happen often.  
  
"I've got to get back to work." As the cup was pushed back towards him, with a quiet "thanks, new kid" he started cleaning the cup immediately. That was when he remembered about the cat upstairs. He hadn't seen any other cats, minus the Mayor, but he doubted the mayor would work upstairs. He didn't really seem as grumpy as he was made out to be, but he figured that maybe people just assumed things of him too quickly. Tweek had always been aware that not many people liked him because of his twitching habits, or his stutter, but even as they spoke bad behind his back he tried to ignore it. He wouldn't say anything, as he wasn't supposed to know anything, but seeing someone so calm made him calmer. Maybe this town was going to be good for him, and not just a change in tune.  
  
As the song finished, he said he was going to have a break directed at the white dog, and that he would be back. (He may also help himself to beverages, but that was not of utmost importance right now.)  
  
Heading out and putting up the velvet barrier, he made his way upstairs carelessly to speak to the black cat. Maybe he shouldn't have abandoned his post, but he wasn't actually meant to start working until later. Going up the stairs he'd just about reached the top when the nasally voice told him to fuck off. He proceeded anyway, but with heightened caution.  
  
"I said fuck off, jeez louise." The voice sounded very pissed off, and Tweek was tempted to just leave, though Craig turned before he could. "What are you doing up here?"  
  
Shit, he hadn't thought that far ahead. "I'm... Well I wasn't supposed to start my shift until a couple of hours later, so I decided maybe I could come up here and stargaze. It's one of the only things I haven't seen yet."  
  
Craig didn't seem impressed, and maybe it was just because this was his sanctuary or what, but he didn't look like he was moving any time soon. "You can look up at the sky, can you not?" Tweek swallowed, and looked around as Craig peered back into the telescope, and instead went to look at the books scattered around. Most of them were on space, astrology or planets, and he picked up one of the books on astrology. "Can I borrow this?" He asked, voice soft and placid as though trying to be convincing.   
  
Without even looking back, he said; "Knock yourself out, I don't care."  
  
Now the boy understood why he was called grumpy. But, nonetheless, he went to make his way back down to his post, thanking the cat for the book as he went downstairs. Now he had something to do in his time, but as he got down there two people were already waiting for the coffee shop to be open.  
  
Apologising and removing the barrier, he made his way down to the shop, vaulting the counter before getting himself prepared. "So what would you two like?"  
  
The day was relatively long, but it could've been a lot worse. He managed to finish the book he borrowed, and decided that he would mail it back when he got home, and it would be a good way to strike up actual conversation with his neighbour. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh this chapter is mostly build-up, sorry guys. Continued in next whenever I have free time!!


	3. Conversation? Not in MY Letterbox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally said both Douchebag and Wendy are Mayor last chapter, but Wendy is assistant Mayor bc Douchebag don't do shit.

Craig awoke that morning feeling less well rested than ever.   
  
As he had gone through his books before leaving, he had found that Tweek had taken his favourite book, and he probably should've paid more attention to it. He wasn't impressed and ended up losing a lot of sleep over it, and knocking on someone's door when hey were sleeping was a dick move. He knew how bad it was as most people did it to him, and he wasn't that horrible he would try to wake someone.  
  
But, as he left his house at around midday, he spotted something. Mail. He had mail.  
  
He never had mail, especially not on a Sunday.  
  
That meant someone had put it in his letterbox themselves, and so he opened it curiously, taking out the letter and the box. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but he would like to see that fucking emotion try and get near him.   
  
Peeling back the envelope of the note first, he sat down on the grass outside his house to set the box next to him. The note read;  
  
_"Dear Craig,_  
  
_Thanks for letting me borrow that book! It was really neat._  
_I also know that you don't seem very talkative, but I would_  
_love to spend some time in the observatory sometime! Even_  
if I don't end up doing much with you so to speak.  
  
Yours ~~sincerely,~~ faithfully,  
_Tweek."_  
  
It was kind of sweet, he had to admit, but still made him wonder why the guy wanted to spend time with him of all people. He'd seen him going around with Butters, and meeting everyone, but really? Was he that into meeting everyone or did he really just actually want to be a friendly neighbour. Clyde was a friendly enough neighbour, but not this friendly so fast.   
  
Maybe it was a trick? Then again, the guy didn't seem like the kind of person to pull tricks on others. He was too much of a nervous wreck. He'd told Kenny that yesterday when the conversation topic was brought up, and the lion seemed to stick up for him a bit. He was new, sure, but it couldn't have been _that_ frightening. Most of the townsfolk were nice, he knew from experience. Craig, himself was just an asshole unintentionally.  
  
Taking the box into both hands and placing the letter to one side, he pulled the carefully wrapped parcel to reveal... The borrowed book.   
  
Either that guys was fast at reading, or had a really boring shift. Maybe both, but it was unlikely. Leaning back against his house in the morning sunlight, he curled a large, fluffy black tail around himself. Maybe the guy next door wasn't SO bad, but he still wanted to know what was going on, and why he was being so super friendly all of a sudden.   
  
Reading over the letter once more, he decided to go pick up some paper to write back. Heading over to Cartman's shop wasn't smart, though.  
  
"Oh hey Craig, haven't seen you in here since you first moved in, what's changed?" It was true that Craig hadn't been in here for anything, but that was because he hated the guy. Always in your face about something, you can't even enter the shop without being bugged.  
  
But when Craig first moved in he had to buy furniture, a fishing rod and the like. When he got attacked by bees he didn't even go there for medicine. Kenny was probably the most targeted by bees anyway, so it would be smart to leave it for him. Most of Craig's house hadn't been changed much over the years, maybe with a few shifts of objects but otherwise it was exactly the same. Walls patterned to look like space, floor as plain as can be with a nice carpet. He had a whole room of his favourite fish of which he had caught himself. It was like a small, extra museum. His savings kept him going on everything else, otherwise.   
  
"I just want some plain, lined paper." His voice was irritated and as though he wanted to leave quickly, which is exactly what he wanted to do.   
  
"Ooh, sorry about that. No lined paper, clean out. I do have lovely paper, butterfly paper or buttercup paper, though."   
  
Obviously the expression Craig was pulling was one of "are you fucking serious" because the only response he got was a nod. He should've ordered online, it'd be so much easier and could've been delivered to his house. Waste of time, though. "Gimme the butterfly paper, you ass."   
  
With an exchange of bells for the goods, he set on his way back home, writing the letter as he went.   
  
" _Dear Tweek,_  
  
_thanks for sending my book back, i was actually concerned_  
_because it's one of my favourites. i really like space. you_  
_can come up whenever tbh, I might not say much tho._  
_Welcome to town btw._  
  
_From Craig."_  
  
Feeling the letter was falling short, he added a couple of doodles to even it out. They weren't amazing, but it was a page filler, it didn't have to be. He also wasn't big on putting full words in there or doing much for his capitals because he didn't care, but he was sure Tweek wouldn't much care himself.   
  
Sealing the letter, he thought of what he might be able to give him. He got a gift with his letter, even if it was just to return his book. Hurrying into his house, he looked around for something to put with the letter. He decided on a wardrobe, as it was practical and good housewarming. Putting it with the letter, he left it just outside Tweek's house right as he was walking out the door.  
  
Fuck. Actual conversation he couldn't handle. Probably.   
  
Hiding beside the house where Tweek couldn't spot him, he made as little noise as he possibly could. Mice had really good ears, and he didn't want to be known this time. Peeking to see his reaction he waited patiently as the mouse looked at the object and the letter attached to it. "Huh," As he took hold of the letter he noticed how he was shaking, as though it was going to be some sort of prank. His face was scrunched up slightly, and as he read the first line(he assumed) his features softened.  
  
A small laugh escaped him and the smile that spread over his cheeks made Craig's heart do flip flops. As he swallowed thickly, the quiet noise that went with it was enough to distract him from the letter. This guy was too good and it was making him anxious. "Hello?" Tweek asked, and his voice sounded like it would crack anytime soon. Deciding he would make a run for it, he turned only to be met with two large ears. Upon looking down, however, he found two bright green eyes looking up at him. "W-Why are you hiding behind my house?"  
  
The letter seemed all but forgotten, and Craig could feel the tension in the air. This guy was fast and had impeccable hearing. "Craig?" His name was enough to snap him out of his thoughts, and examine the face he had been staring at for about a minute. He'd never been great with people so his ability to look over expressions wasn't amazing, but he didn't seem mad. As far as he knew. "I wanted to see your reaction."  
  
Although he wasn't great at grabbing emotions from the way people expressed themselves, Tweek was definitely flustered. "Oh," was all he said before falling silent once more. Crouching slightly to be at eye level he put both hands on his own knees for comfort. "Hey, you okay in there?" Craig asked, gently tapping his temple.  
  
"I uh," He paused briefly before continuing. "I-I've got to get back, y'know. M-Mail." A weak laugh escaped and he made his way back to his post, leaving Craig to make his way past. But at that very moment he heard the pitter patter of feet running towards him. Tweek, however didn't stop in time and ran straight into him. Turning to see if he was okay, he noticed that he'd fallen backwards and was laying on his back in the grass.   
  
Bending at the waist, he looked at the fallen boy carefully. "Today isn't going well for you, is it?"  
  
He didn't get up, or move much other than propping himself up on his elbows. "Why did you give me a wardrobe? That's way too much to get in return for a borrowed book that was yours anyway." Damn, he caught on to his plan. "It was a housewarming gift, now do you want a hand up?"  
  
Taking both hands out of his pockets, he held them out towards the mouse, awaiting the joining of hands to pull him up. It took much longer than usual, because Tweek had actually been admiring him. Not like he knew. Looking up into those stunning cerulean eyes, of which stood out against black fur. A very, very soft looking tail, of which seemed too fluffy for its own good. Probably needed a good brush, though, he couldn't imagine leaving it so long to get that knotted and unkempt.   
  
"Stop staring at me and get up."  
  
It was then made apparent that he'd brushed off the offer to instead, gaze at him.  Yikes. Forcing himself upwards, he just tried to stop looking directly at the cat, but failed miserably.   
  
"Do you want something from me or are you just trying to intimidate me? Because either way it won't work." Craig wasn't impressed, and Tweek just replied with "I was wondering if you needed help brushing your tail." Craig was about to explode at him about how he was perfectly fine at grooming himself, but often his tail was the one thing he neglected. It was fluffy, always in the way and took up too much time. However, he didn't like people touching his fur, no matter how friendly that person was. Butters hadn't even been able to get near his tail, yet he still found himself replying with a "sure..."  
  
At that very moment Tweek's face lit up and he grabbed his hand quickly to tug him towards his house. Right now? He hadn't mentally prepared for that, but then again he couldn't give a fuck about most things, why start now?  
  
Upon going inside he found two stools next to a table, the rest of the room minimalistically decorated, and if it was it reminded him of something that would be in the waiting room of a mental institute.   
  
Instead of taking a proper seat, Craig sat on the floor, to the others dismay. He didn't say anything but it was written over his face, and he grabbed a brush before sitting down himself. Instead of making conversation, he was quiet and a sliver of a pink tongue was poking out his mouth as he concentrated on not pulling any knots or hurting him. It was very cute.   
  
In fact, the action of brushing was calming, and he found himself heavy lidded and ready to sleep even with having not woken up long ago. Shifting to lay his head in the other male's lap, he wrapped both arms around his middle as in the back of his throat a low rumble made its way up to emit a quiet purr. It was a little harder to reach his tail from here, but with a calm, happy boy laying on him he couldn't find it in himself to complain about the fact this was inconvenient.   
  
As a smile graced his features, sleep deprivation made sure to press against the back of his mind telling him to sleep. He didn't think it appropriate with a guest, and as he looked down Craig had fallen asleep. His hat was slipping off and as the black cat nuzzled into his lithe form, he found himself gently petting him anyway. Shuffling himself back slightly to lean against the sofa, he soothed a comfortable cat to go back to sleep. If he went to sleep now, maybe he wouldn't be so grumpy when he went to the observatory?   
  
He doubted it, but one could hope, non?   
  
Moments later he felt his own body start to shut down. He'd already finished brushing the knots out of the fluffy black mass, but he'd still feel weird falling asleep like that. Craig might think it was weird, though he might've already assumed that already. Tweek decided he liked Craig when he was tired and affectionate. He was much easier to get along with.  
  
Draping both arms over Craig's body, he fell asleep leaning back against the sofa, as although he was anxious, he was happy. Craig still seemed happy himself, as he was still purring, occasionally rubbing his face against the warm stomach right against him.  
  
  



	4. Does This Count as a Date?

Craig was actually the first to wake up, finding himself comfortably nestled against a warmth of which was uncanny. He couldn't quite put his finger on what he fell asleep on with his arms tightly gripped to until he sat back.   
  
The small mouse had one ankle tucked under his left knee, arms loosely flopping from the shoulders they were once curled around, his head lolled over to one side peacefully as his mouth - though slightly agape - squashed into the sofa as he shifted. Obviously the weight of another body being moved had made him stir, but really right now Craig couldn't help but not care. He looked comfortable, and while watching him curl into a ball the calm face seemed to shift into that of worry.  
  
Well, although he didn't care about much, this guy had just helped solve one of his biggest life issues. Plus, he found his tail felt unbelievably soft right now, so he had to hand it to him he had a way with others. Even if at first he didn't seem like it. Craig could only want to help pay back such a favour. Scooting his way over, he wrapped one arm around the small set of shoulders that were curling on on themselves and one hand against the back of his neck, fiddling with the long hair just at the nape of his neck.  
  
Edging the other boy closer was the easy part, not sneezing when that wild hair brushed over a sensitive button nose was not planned. Instead, he buried his face in the depths and pressed a light, unrestrained kiss against his crown. "Shhhh," he cooed, voice quiet as though trying not to wake a sleeping child. "It's alright, buddy, I've got you."  
  
It didn't take long for the simple hug to calm him, and the erratic breathing slowed, watching the boy settle against him. Two skinny arms wrapped around his middle and gave him a squeeze, the next voice that spoke up was thick with sleep. "Thanks, Craig." Before said boy could react, the blond had nuzzled his face into the blue hoodie he was wearing, lifting his knees to curl into a ball against his chest.   
  
This, he didn't understand, though. Tweek wasn't that close to him, so why was he so comfortable being around him, Craig Tucker, asshole extraordinare? Right now with the blond barely conscious he could take advantage of him. He could shame him in many a ways, rig his house with traps, pranks or bombs for all he knew, yet he trusted him enough to fall asleep while the other was clearly wide awake.   
  
Craig was not the type of person to break trust like that so easily, however. He may not give a shit usually, about anything but Tweek had been friendly, welcoming. He had looked past what had been said about him and possibly even his own thoughts to try and befriend him. He wasn't going to throw rocks while inside a greenhouse.  
  
Wrapping him up(of which wasn't hard, the dude was tiny) and keeping him securely in his arms, he took him upstairs to find the bedroom. It wasn't very hard as it was just at the top of the stairs, and went to put him in. Tweek always had really dark bags under his eyes anyway, he looked like he could use a good rest.  
  
Kneeling on the bed with one knee turned out to be a problem. He lost balance, and fell forward slightly, trying to steady himself with the other knee. It didn't help so he quickly let one hand go to prop himself up. Letting the boy go, he pulled the blanket over him, even if he was now laying diagonally over a double bed. Least he'd be comfortable.  
  
Maybe he wouldn't be as comfortable as he could've been, but he was not going to undress someone for comfort. Tweek might wake up and think horrible of Craig, so he didn't want to take that risk, plus the fact it was an invasion of privacy.  
  
Taking the paper out of one of his pockets, he wrote a note for him to read when he woke up. It read;  
  
" _Hey! When I woke up you were still asleep and looked_  
_uncomfortable or something, like you might have had_  
_a nightmare. I thought your bed might be a nicer place_  
_to sleep. Message me, ok!_  
  
_Meet at observatory 9pm_  
~Craig"  
  
He was sure that it wasn't such a bad note, and he'd put in the effort to mostly have proper English, punctuation and everything, but either way. Leaving the note, he took one last look at the mouse and left reluctantly for him to sleep.  
  
Going home he decided to wait for the right time to roll around. 

 

  
***

 

  
Tweek had read the note as soon as he woke up but the problem was, he woke up at 8:57pm.  
  
In a rush, he had to get ready, shower, brush his teeth, brush, run, meet Craig and it was _too much pressure._ That thought hadn't been running rampant for a long time, but he could feel the pressure beating down on him like the sun on a sweltering day.  
  
He managed to get ready and be at the museum by half past, and as nobody was around the coffee shop he went up to see Craig but found him nowhere to be seen. "Craig?" He asked softly, looking around the dark room, he didn't see, but felt two eyes of which bore holes into the back of his head. Like trying to make it explode with their mind.  
  
The figure emerged just as Tweek turned, and he screamed as loud as his lungs could manage. Tears were forming in his eyes as his terrified body fell backwards onto the floor amongst the books. The figure's gaze softened and soon enough a brilliant white, toothy smile spread across the darkness. All he could see were two brilliant blue eyes and a set of chompers. That boy would give the Cheshire cat a run for his money.  
  
"I don't think I've ever seen somebody so petrified in my life. Really hurt my ears, though." Craig's calm demeanor and placid voice eased him, but the rage that bubbled up overtook such a sensation. "Why'd y-you do that?! I-I could've had a h-heart a-a-attack!!" His voice was cracking, high pitched but still managed to sound small and vulnerable. "I h-have heart prob-problems as it i-is!" His stuttering was getting worse and Craig's smile had long gone. It had gone after the first word uttered from Tweek alone.  
  
The black cat made his way over, placing careful, cautious hands on his shoulders. "Shh, calm down. Breathe with me," He seemed to pause his apology to get him to calm down first, to which he was grateful. It took about a minute of breathing in and out deeply, slowly and with Craig to calm down, but once Tweek had gotten a hold of himself once more Craig started up. "I'm sorry I scared you, but I thought you weren't coming. I didn't know who was coming up and it made me angry but it was you and I-... Maybe got ahead of myself." He didn't mention the heart problems the blond had, to which he was thankful, but how did he expect him to be there all ready and stuff in three minutes?   
  
"I'd only just w-woken up three minutes to n-nine." Craig seemed to catch along, wrapping both arms around him in a friendly embrace. "Nobody usually comes anyway, I was mostly upset because it was you who declined."   
  
Tweek felt his heart lurch up towards his throat, and squeaked out a "what" before coughing and actually speaking properly. "I'm sorry." The black haired cat just shook his head and buried his face in blond locks. "It wasn't your fault you slept forever. I thought seeing as we'd been sleeping all day it wouldn't go on forever."  
  
Actually, Tweek had only fallen asleep about 11am, and had been the longest sleep ever. Either way, he was thankful Craig had been with him. That guy brought out something in him he couldn't himself.  
  
"W-What do you say we go to C-Club L-O-L?" Most of his tears had been wiped on Craig's hoodie, but he didn't seem to mind, fortunately.   
  
Upon actually making it outside, it was a mistake. They should've stayed inside.  
  
In the wide open spaces he found things following them, touching his legs, arms, ears. He gripped tightly onto Craig's arm, and upon the blue eyed male looking down he found an absolutely terrified boy trying to get off of the floor using his arm. "Tweek, calm down. Speak to me." He was trying to get him to open up or at least cool off.   
  
"T-They're following u-us. I-I know I sound c-crazy b-b-but you've got to b-believe me!" His voice was visibly shaken and as Craig turned to look around, he couldn't spot anything. Usually he would laugh and make fun of whoever this was, but this wasn't slightly scared, paranoid. It was visibly terrified shaking like a leaf and he wasn't going to contribute to his heart problems. "I believe you."  
  
The face Tweek pulled was genuinely shocked, but also relieved. "Y-You do?" A nod. "Tell me what you see, Tweek."  
  
Although still gripping onto him, he tried to think, looking around himself. "T-They're a-all different. Some look l-like shadows w-with big teeth and sharp s-spikes, o-others look like s-sentient goo with a th-thousand eyes." Craig seemed confused, still looking for what he had seen, but couldn't spot anything, still. "I-I'm probably hallucinating again."   
  
Even if that were true, Craig was'g going to let anything hurt his friend, and so wrapped both arms around the boy to cuddle up to him. "Look, no matter if you are or not I won't let anything hurt you, okay?" Lifting him up so he wouldn't have anything grab his ankles, he held him close as they made their way to the club. The blond in his arms seemed to calm down, and just before entering, found he was asleep. He really must be catching up on it or he wouldn't be sleeping this much. Maybe he was just really comfortable?  
  
Either way, he decided he wouldn't have much fun in a club when asleep, so he took the boy to his house, waking him only when sure that it was close to his house to avoid any more encounters. "Tweek, you're home."  
  
The barely conscious boy got up to stand on his own two feet only to fall towards the door, legs weak, arms heavy. (Mums spaghetti.) Steadying him and seeing him in, he waited for the boy to bid him adieu and close the door before going home himself. He may have gotten himself a teeny tiny crush on the boy.


	5. A Little Loving Never Killed Nobody

Over the short time he was there, Tweek had found himself sending letters to Craig a lot. The cat had actually smiled at him one morning, and although it wasn't large toothy and terrifying, it counted for a lot. He hadn't noticed him do that with anyone else.  
  
Kenny had also become a close friend, and the two spent a lot of time just walking around chatting, or even just having tea over at his house. Butters joined the two sometimes, and Tweek found himself relaxed around everyone, though. Butters had been correct in saying everyone in town was really friendly or really nice. Craig had been the only person it took time to warm up to, and that ended up going really well. Jimmy had been relaxed while telling him it was okay that he hadn't visited yet, but promised he would.  
  
Today, however, he sat in Kenny's house with a small lioness following his tail wherever it moved. Karen seemed to find amusement in the little things, and it was nice. Even if she did catch him and bite down on his poor, fragile extended spine more often than not.  
  
Kenny did seem very close with her, though, and after minutes of torture he picked the struggling girl up and sat her on his lap facing towards him.  
  
"So what's with Craig, he seems to be really happy lately and all I've heard is gossip that you two are a thing." The smooth voice was softer than usual, probably only because it was supposed to be secret. Even if he was still a little loud.  
  
"I... don't know? I-I mean it might be me, b-but it's most likely n-not. Maybe he's j-just really happy." Innocent enough of an assumption, but Kenny still believed otherwise. "Dude, Craig doesn't do happy. I didn't even know he had emotions up until you came along."   
  
Although Tweek had been told that Craig was either pissed off or very plain about what he did, he'd never assumed him not to have emotions. It was going to take a lot to find out the real cause of the reason he'd been so happy these last couple of days, though, and the twitchy blond didn't much want to delve into the cats personal life. It was like trying to uncover things that were made to be secrets and secrets made him anxious.  
  
The little girl noticed his disposition and turned to put a hand on his knee. She was pretty big compared to him, actually, even if she was only six. She was only a tiny bit smaller than him. Kenny still towered over them both, though. "Stop worrying. Maybe he will tell you in time." Karen voiced, and he only now realised that she still had the voice of a child. It was a little trippy, especially as this was the first time he'd heard her anything but laugh or growl. She didn't speak much.  
  
"Yeah. Maybe you don't have to do anything like snooping in his personal things." Kenny shrugged and threw Karen over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Lemme get this sucker on the train to meet her friend and we can get back to talking."  
  
Ruby was apparently also a cat, but she had golden, ginger-ish fur and actually took care of it. She was Craig's sister, he knew that, but the two did get along okay. Sometimes she visited, but was mostly only there to visit Karen.  
  
Today, Karen was going off, and Kenny always made sure she took the correct train, told her where to get off even if she had it memorised and he did genuinely care about her well-being. Today was no different, and he'd told her to meet him by the station when she got back. Tweek waited patiently, even if he did feel the need to wait outside. Kenny was back in only a few minutes, and sat back down, crossing his legs and leaning over the table. "So let's talk about _boys_."  
  
Tweek laughed. Actually laughed a loud and obnoxious chortle. Kenny gave a grin but did not say anything further on the matter. " _D-Dude,_ if you w-want to talk about your crushes p-please try to keep it PG." Kenny only gave him a sly grin, tail whipping back and forth effortlessly. "My boy crush or _yours_? Because _Craig Tucker_ doesn't seem like a PG conversation topic."  
  
The look on Kenny's face was like the cat that got the cream and Tweek couldn't handle the heat rising to his face. It may not have been visible, but his expression showed that he was definitely blushing. "I don't l-like Craig! Not in that w-way anyway." Kenny's facial expression read "please elaborate" and so he tried. "H-He's just a good f-friend, Kenny. I mean, he helps me with h-hallucinations when I see them, a-and he's pretty nice when he wants to be. He's smart and thoughtful, and he actually cares about what I'm going to say about random things that don't make sense." Kenny's expression didn't change at all.  
  
"You may not have it for him, but he's got it bad for you. Notice after you got into a reverie you stopped stuttering? Craig even helps when you don't notice." The lion stood himself up and walked past Tweek, giving him a pat on the back as he went before reaching the little kitchen. "I'd say just go with it and see what happens."  
  
Even though Kenny was right, he wasn't sure if he could. Tweek hadn't really been one for relationships, and they made him more anxious than it was worth. Though Craig was different, in a way not many people were. He was scared of such commitment, and if he messed up or something. Craig would hate him otherwise. He didn't want to lose the one person to calm him like no other. "B-But what if nothing happens?"  
  
Shrugging, Kenny took the pie out of the oven and placed it on the side to cool for a moment, cutting out two slices to place on plates without taking them over. "Then nothing happens. If you go with the flow, then you can't really be wrong. Your heart will always be right." The smell of apple pie filled the air and Tweek buried his face in his hands. "T-That's a lot of pressure. And i-isn't your heart s-slightly to the left? How can it be right?!"   
  
Kenny rolled his eyes affectionately and expertly balanced two plates on one arm while bringing over the rest of the pie and cutlery, sliding them down when reaching the table. "Try not to think too far into it, dude. Craig would be lucky to have you."   
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really."  
  
  
After talking with Kenny, coming to a conclusion and going home, he sat there with papers scattered over his main rooms free floor-space and planned out conversations, ways to bring up the fact that Tweek, himself liked Craig and that maybe they could talk through it like adults, possibly even just talk about why Craig was so happy. There were many plans on what was going to happen, be spoken of and everything that the knock on his door went unnoticed.  
  
Eventually the door opened and Tweek, again didn't hear it at all, too focussed on sorting through plans and jotting things down. He didn't notice the blue clad black cat was reading over his shoulder. "What are these plans for?"  
  
Tweek screamed so loud he'd have shocked himself, but all Craig did was wince at the volume hitting his sensitive ears. "Jesus fuck, calm down, dude. It's only me."  
  
At that point in time Tweek started gathering everything up into a messy pile, sitting himself over it to cover any information that may have been visible otherwise. "I-I was j-just going through some p-plans for the uh... The..." He swallowed thickly, and looking around, he spotted his coffee mug. Bingo. "The coffee shop! Yeah, I w-was going to design some new m-mugs to go with the museum theme."   
  
Craig didn't seem convinced but shrugged, nonetheless. "I haven't seen you out all day. I was kind of worried you'd died or something." Well, at least that was thoughtful. Tweek's stiffened muscles relaxed slightly at the notion of Craig being slightly concerned for his wellbeing. "I only get along with a couple of people, so... If you died I'd be pretty bummed."   
  
 _Great ending. Thank's Craig, you really are spectacular with words. Way to make a guy feel absolutely **fucking** amazing_ , his thoughts supplied with a thick layer of sarcasm. "Oh! T-That reminds me, Kenny was curious as to w-why you seem so happy lately. H-He said it was because I've b-been hanging around you a lot..." The black cat didn't seem phased, but answered truthfully. "Yeah, it is because of you," That admission was a lot easier than he expected. "You're nice to be around, dude. I think you're rubbing off on me."  
  
Taking it the literal way instead of how the saying was supposed to be, Tweek shied away once more. "W-Well I can stop if y-you want? I don't remember r-rubbing on you, though?"   
  
The laugh that erupted from him was glorious. Sounded a little like someone who had a blocked nose was laughing, but he always sounded like that. His laugh was something not many people heard, though, and it was not a small scoff, a chuckle or tiny giggling. It was full laughter that had him leaning forward slightly. Really, it wasn't that funny to him, because he was being completely serious, but Craig found it hilarious. "I meant you're growing on me. Y'know? Being around you just makes me happier and I pick up on some of your small quirks?"   
  
Tweek was lost, though that did sort of make sense. He felt a little silly now, until Craig started gently running fingers through his hair, the soft pads of his hands trying to ease the worry out from him. It was a little unnerving knowing that Craig could read his thoughts apparently, but his face was very expressive as Butters had told him. Maybe he should stop thinking and worrying and just take life as it came. That was easier said than done, though, so really he couldn't take things so easily. "Craig, d-do you like me?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. I said this like a minute ago."   
  
Tweek groaned and started making hand gestures to try and get his point across. "No, like..." Pausing to think, he then continued with a clear mind. " _like_ like."   
  
"You just said the same word three times over." Tweek shoved his leg, and the black cat snorted. "But yeah, I guess. Who wouldn't _love_ you?"   
  
Obviously he said love instead of the childish term to avoid admitting it, probably to get a rise out of the mouse, but it pulled at his heartstrings. Craig loved him. Not even like like, as he put it. He straight up admitted it without a care in the world, and although he wasn't usually one to keep secrets(he would admit basically anything as long as someone asked. The guy didn't give a fuck) Tweek had not been expecting it. He felt lost, and like his brain had frozen over.  
  
"Me." Tweek said without thinking. It was a mistake as he was never one to really give in to his weaknesses, as he was the type of person to face them and come out beaten bruised and downhearted. But he usually made it through by the skin of his teeth. "Oh," Was the only thing the cat said, and then came a long silence, of which was much more awkward than he'd have liked.  
  
"Well then, I guess I'll have to love you for two. Or as you'd probably put like, like like _like_ like you." It sounded stupid, but it did get Tweek to let out a small laugh. Craig gave a tiny smile and pulled the blond into a hug, after sitting down on the floor just in front of him. "I-I can't believe you said the same word f-five times over and I understood it. That's messed up."   
  
With a squeeze, raven haired cat nuzzled his face into the crown of Tweek's head. "Maybe. But I mean it one thousand percent."  
  
That wasn't even a real way to mean it because 100% was everything. Going over it was just ridiculous. The point was still welcomed, though, and so Tweek wrapped both arms around the cat finally feeling just a little less angry at himself for letting loose such information. In fact, he felt better than ever.


End file.
